THE NEW YORKER the wood with abrasives; he smooths it with a pldne that he has mdde him- self. Perhaps it is because he show such respect for his materials that q carpen ter in Japan is so respected. No one can touch the Japanese when it comes to the ancient crafts. Yet what they're most eager to learn is, of course, Western technology and Western ways. When I first went to Japan, all they wanted to hear about was Western archi- tecture. Would you be- lIeve It, not a single school in the coun try ta ugh t Japanese archItecture! Now, fortunately, they have come around to teaching their own as well " as ours. Raymond led the way to the fountain and stood admiring it. "Yes, J unzo has made a nice departure here," he said. "A foun- tain is traditional in Japan; water is one of the ma- jor elements of Japanese a architecture But instead '4 of having water run down over the customary large stones, you see how J unzo has made these abstract metal forms serve as sym- bols of stones? Quite origi- nal And wise, too, for really good stones are hard to come by in these parts. This should be a delight- ful place to transact busi- ness. A clerk will sit here" -he seated himself at one of four small round tables in the room-"and a customer will sit beside him, precisely as though he were in his own living room. Charming." Ra)- mond's face softened and seemed about to break in to a smile; a moment later, he clapped his hands to his ears with a look of pain, for from somewhere be- yond the banners came the unmistakable sound of a carpen ter violating wood wIth a hammer and naIls. T ztrn A boztt Y OU need to know- and doubtless you would have guessed-that the background of the following event is a household in which psychology is free- ly discussed. Very welL Irritated for a number of reasons, among them the racket her eleven-year-old daughter and ten-year-old son were makIng, the lady of the house packed them off to bed fifteen mInutes sooner than usual. Just ":If .. ". " . . '" " . . "- ,,- . ' , , ...ff?" ' , "<0 .. """ : oy. ^ . >i".< # J'"....... "'< . -'^'" <i* 37 before retIrIng, her daughter handed her this holograph: DEAR MOTHER: I think it's about time you made an apology to me and Earl. Imagine putting us in bed at 8:45! Being mean will get you no Nhere, being mean to others when you're mean at yourself is nowa) to solve a ,.. ... . .,. .. .. ... .. ø.. 'v' j .. .- . 4 , '" ." ......c: <t 't' " 'j ,"*' l ':, ' rø :. F.:+* . If,. 'i , }:".,- ., ..... .". ..... . . ....:.:.- ..... ' "; '" "",' , ".:, .., '. ,--.. ^ / k', ' " " ... v (( I've learned one thing about the universe. There's no money in astronomy."